


Gift of Magic

by Tchailenova



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Absolute Systemic Subversion of Mudblood Social Stigma, Alternate Universe - Magical Inheritance, F/M, Gen, I'd be pretty freaked out too, Kidfic, The Fae - FreeForm, The Fates are maybe a little displeased with Titania, Universe Alteration, Unwanted Gifts, eventually the original cast will be pulled in, i mean really: Jane is magical and Sarah has no idea, none of them ever asked for this - not that they could have anyway even if they'd known in advance, raising a child in uncertain circumstances, the f/m pairing is mostly background material and refers to Jane's parents' relationship, this is me just playing about in the sandbox for now, this story is mostly gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-19 09:33:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8200193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tchailenova/pseuds/Tchailenova
Summary: Magical Society has forgotten something rather vital. Somewhere in all the millennia, a certain truth has been smudged and erased completely from the history and reference books. It's not something that can be proved with science, or diligent testing or experimentation, after all. The Fae are displeased, after this latest round of their gifts being misunderstood so thoroughly, and have decided it's time to do a little something about it.No Fae has felt the need to break any of their stringent laws, but if The Titania has granted them leave to bend a few of the guidelines creatively, then what dutiful subject would go against the word and spirit of her law?It was really only a matter of time before somebody Witnessed the act of Giving. Magical Society is in for some rather spectacular upheaval. Only time will tell where all the pieces end up falling in the chaos.





	1. Uninvited

**Author's Note:**

> Sarah and Marcus are young uncertain parents with their first child. She's pretty freaked out by this and I do some light exploration of those weaknesses and fears. It's not anything that would bother my normal demographic, but on the tiny off-chance that my story hits a little too close to home... well, the last thing I want is to make anyone uncomfortable who hadn't been properly warned ahead of time.
> 
> I don't own anything in the Canonical Harry Potter Universe, though I am changing it quite a bit.
> 
> Now that we've all been properly warned, on to the story proper!

Horrified and unable to move, I watched as a small child crawled through the window pane of Jane’s nursery. I tried to shift the dream, because I had to be dreaming – there was no other explanation. I tried to make the intruding child into a puppy so I could cut the strings. I’d been practicing with a bit of lucid dreaming with some success, but – to my dismay – the child continued unhindered into the room. Fear spiked in my heart as the intruder, a little girl, crept closer to Jane’s crib. Her motions were strangely fluid for a child her age, and I found myself unable to pull my attention away from her gentle approach.

She looked to me, I guess to confirm that I was asleep in the rocking chair, and I felt my heart skip several beats. This little girl – not at all like any other little girls I’d ever known – had a sharp smile and a burning gaze. Her other, softer, features suddenly made her appear all the more dangerous, and I wanted nothing more than to wake up and take my little Jane far away from this interloper. The creature, because I wasn’t sure it was really a little girl anymore, turned away from me. I felt my heart start up again in a frenzy and leap into my throat as the thing leaned down over Jane’s tiny sleeping form.

Even though the bars of the crib were still up, they didn’t seem to provide any protection against the other child – just as the glass in the window had proven immaterial. From my position I watched, frozen in space unable to do anything except bear witness, as she kissed my precious Jane on the forehead. When the girl straightened again, it seemed that some of her radiance had diminished slightly, as had some of her otherworldly intensity. I tried to move to Jane immediately, to make sure she was alright, but I remained helplessly pinned in my relaxed sprawl in the rocker.

As the girl was slipping out through the glass, she turned back to me and smiled. It wasn’t a mocking smile, but that made me even more frightened of what she had done to my little Jane.

I woke abruptly, shaking, and cold with sweat. I threw the blanket off my legs and crossed the room to Jane’s crib - driven by fear and concern. I don’t know what I expected to see, but Jane was just the same as she’d been when I laid her down to sleep. I checked the clock and was surprised to see that several hours had passed, even though I’d only been watching Jane for 30 minutes before the strangeness began. I was too afraid to write it off entirely as a dream, but the glass and crib were intact and definitely solid. Perhaps I had drifted off to sleep without realizing, and some of my fears manifested themselves as strangely as they’d done in the past – though much more realistically this time.

I leaned over and kissed my Jane, in a perfect replica of what the other child had done in my nightmare. Even if it had been only in my dream, I couldn’t let that interloper be the last one to have kissed my little angel. She felt a little warm under my lips, and I decided to take her to the doctor - just in case. Tomorrow was to be her 100th day party, but if she were ill then it would have to be postponed.


	2. Dottore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big appeal for me with this story is the "largely unplanned" nature of it. I have no outline, and a somewhat vague plan for this 'verse as a whole. As for the plot/story-line of the characters themselves, I only have the vaguest inkling of a hint. Any guesses and suggestions are always welcome - you may spark something that weaves itself into the story!
> 
> As such, this is being written 'by the seat of my pants' - it's a new thing I'm trying out, and I have a few sections already written for posting. Because these will all be on the smaller side (relative to my other works), I will try to post these little installations more often. Never more than one per day, however, as I would never be able to build up any slack. I'll try not to go longer than a week between installations, but I'm /notoriously/ bad about writing on a schedule and then making my readers wait /inordinate/ lengths of time for updates. This is meant to be a small project, light and easy, to ease myself out of those bad habits.
> 
> If a plot develops, it'll probably be something of a surprise to me, but I will do my best to keep following Jane and Sarah's daily life as interestingly as I can. Jane will be growing up soon, so I hope you look forward to some installments from her perspective soon!

Our 4-in-the-morning frantic trip to the emergency clinic got an amused chuckle from the hired taxi, until I glared at the driver and promised pain and retribution if my daughter died because he hadn’t taken the situation seriously. Barely paid attention to our trip and only when he had gotten out and opened my door did could I drag myself from my consideration of little Jane.

In a blur, he escorted us inside - carrying her car seat while I cradled Jane - and hovered at the counter meaningfully until the receptionist-nurse put aside her filing to process us into the system. I hadn’t been paying attention to the meter, but I paid our driver and thanked him as we were ushered immediately into one of the rooms specially for treating very young patients. Jane was too young - and too sleepy, besides - to really appreciate the fluffy clouds sponge-painted onto the powder blue walls. They were plenty soothing for me, though, and I was grateful that the room totally lacked the sense of ‘hospital sterility’ when I was here fearing for my daughter’s good health.

Jane had her vitals taken, was weighed and measured, and her tiny little heartbeat assessed. She barely protested having her temperature taken, and the attending nurse smiled warmly down at Jane, “You are a very tolerant little angel, aren’t you? Didn’t mind any of those routine checks at all, did you?” The nurse smiled at me then as she gathered Jane up again, “Okay, back to mommy, little one.”

She turned back to her tablet, making marks and circling things, serenely recording all the details about Jane in silence. When prompted, I answered her questions about our visit, followed by more marking and notations in pursed-lip-silence.

“The doctor will be in momentarily,” she offered quietly as she left, closing the door behind her, and I wasn’t sure whether to be concerned or mollified at the typical dialogue. Of course, that’s probably the point, but it wound up my nerves nonetheless.

Jane and I amused ourselves for some time, employing our typical games to distract myself from my worry and to keep Jane from becoming bored. The car ride and subsequent checkup - not to mention my clear concern - had woken her fairly thoroughly. We could nap together later before the party, but until I knew she would be alright, neither of us would be sleeping.

Finally, the doctor knocked and entered, and introduced himself. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything he was saying. Even when he’d lifted Jane out of my arms and laid her out on the examination table, easily filling the air with small-talk as he treated my child. For a minute, he was quiet, referring back to Jane’s charts and making sub-vocal sounds of curiosity and contemplation.

“Doctor?” I asked in a sharper tone than I normally would have, my patience having given up the ghost at long last.

“Your daughter seems to be fine. Her temperature is a bit higher than is normal, but it’s nothing to be concerned about,” He smiled at me then, keeping most of his attention on Jane to be sure she didn’t roll herself off the exam table.

“Monitor her temperature for the next day or so, and be sure she is feeding often enough and for long enough. If her appetite changes drastically or if her temperature rises significantly then you should bring her back for a more thorough check-up, but she appears to be a perfectly healthy baby girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side effect from my laziness and current writing process/method, this story is still un-beta'ed, and for that you have my apologies regarding my poor editing job. Any errors you caught in this small installation are my fault, and I'll fix any that get pointed out to me (if any of you dear readerscare to bother) ^_~*V


	3. Anael

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying getting to know these characters - I know original characters don't really get as much attention in fandoms, but there's only so much you can do to twist canon before those characters also become OCs in everything but name. I usually stick with just the canon cast, but I felt like my plans for this particular verse needed a wider variety and even more characters to play with. I'm not super confident in my abilities to introduce new characters in a charming way, so if you have any suggestions or criticism please let me know!

In the flurry of the doctor visit and the 100 days celebration, as well as the days of resting for our family after that busyness, I had successfully pushed the nightmare out of mind. My willful forgetfulness only lasted until I next kissed Jane on her forehead. Suddenly I was reminded of my worry in that nightmare, which had only happened a few days ago, but it had somehow slipped cleanly through my thoughts. Now, though, it seemed all the worries and fear had piled up on me all over again, with a vengeance.

If something had really happened to Jane, and it wasn’t just my imagination, then I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t do anything about it. I made an appointment with a reputable energy worker, just to soothe my worries. If that child had done something bad to Jane, the sooner it could be found and fixed, the better.

Several days later, my husband dropped Jane and I off at the clinic, understanding that I was too nervous to safely drive us anywhere. We entered the soft and comforting space, full of gentle light and warmth, and were led to the quiet room where the energy healer would set my worries to rest.

She entered, and though I’d never seen her before, I felt that her soft golden curls were intensely familiar. She smiled to me and I felt my nerves relax and untangle. This woman had a comforting way about her, and I was put at ease immediately. We shook hands and exchanged greetings, and I showed Jane off to Anna as a new mother is wont to do. They seemed to get along well, which was a good sign for the work we’d come to have done. If Jane could relax, it would be easier for Anna to see any unpleasantness and excise the problem – just as in adults: trusting your healer is the best thing you can do to speed recovery.

I laid Jane down on the soft and secure bedding that had been prepared, and sat back to watch with interest. I’d never seen a healing done before, only participated in them. I was unsurprised when soft music filled the air and a gentle scent rose to my awareness, nor was I surprised when Anna moved to stand with her hands gently framing Jane’s head and shoulders. My thoughts began wandering, as they usually do during healings, and I let them go wherever they pleased – content to simply observe them and the healer with my daughter. I was imagining it, or maybe the lights in the room were programmed to shift hues – as they sometimes were, but nonetheless, a gentle golden glow hovered around the edges of my vision and I felt warmth and rightness buffet my senses.

Finally, Anna moved from where she’d been holding completely immobile, and something in me exhaled deeply in relief.

She smiled to me and said softly, “Your little angel is fine. There is nothing wrong with Jane, though it appears to me that she has higher sensitivity than I expect to see in these cases.”

I frowned, worried, but unable to adequately convey anything into words. Thankfully, Anna seemed to understand, “This isn’t necessarily a problem, but you may notice her reacting differently than you might expect to some things. If you have any questions or concerns that your GP can’t answer, come back and see me and we’ll see what can be done, alright?”

I thanked her warmly and accepted my warm and sleeping Jane from Anna’s arms. Speaking somewhat to Jane, and somewhat to nobody in particular, I mused, “It’s certainly going to be an adventure with you, my dear, isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You, who have read this far into the story of my OCs, are precious to me, even if you don't leave a review or anything else. Thank you for witnessing my story, and letting me share it with you.


	4. Something Amiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sarah makes a startling discovery, and makes a much-needed call for help...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this little addition is shorter than the previous installments have been, but the next one will be quite a bit longer as a reward for your patience and continued patronage!

When little Jane was two, I entered the nursery happy to hear the sound of delighted giggles, but I was horrified by what I saw. Jane was sitting on her play mat, next to the mobile with butterflies and hummingbirds. That was normal. Not so normal were the two stuffed animals that were dancing around her in a little circle to the music provided by the mobile. Memories of otherworldly creatures slipping through the window crept back into the forefront of my mind immediately. Forgotten for so long, but I remembered them very clearly. It was a wonder I didn’t constantly think of them and rush home to the nursery just to be sure all was well.

Jane spotted me and giggled brightly, standing unsteadily and reaching out her arms to be picked up. I warily watched the stuffed animals pause for me to pass, and as I picked her up, the animals fell where they were – once again slumped over lifeless and boneless. I tried to ignore them and focused my smile on Jane as warmly as I could so that she wouldn’t pick up on my distress. She was quite sensitive to my moods, as Anna had predicted, and I didn’t want Jane to think she’d done anything wrong.

It was hardly  _ her _ fault that the nursery made me hallucinate with waking dreams – and if I wasn’t hallucinating, then the nursery was haunted, and  _ that _ wasn’t Jane’s fault either.

A ghostly image of the little intruder girl flickered in my mind’s eye, superimposed over the presently bright and empty window, and it seemed even more likely than before: Jane’s nursery was somehow haunted. I made an appointment with Anna for a house call. Surely she would know what to do about the nursery being haunted. And if it wasn’t haunted, then Anna would probably be able to tell if something was wrong with  _ me _ . I didn’t know what to hope, or what to expect. But all these unexplained happenings and not knowing anything, they were getting to me, and the stress was quickly becoming more than I could bear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbeta'd, and I'm fairly well ahead of my posts. Which I feel gives me some freedom with my updates for the next few months.
> 
> This year will be the first year I can properly partake (given my status as an Alumnus (which is happy), and my current unemployment (which is less pleasing)). I'll write as much as I can before the event begins (to build up a backlog), but I will keep my updates to this story to once-a-week until New Years. That'll give me adequate time to devote to NaNoWriMo, as well as the month of editing which will likely follow.
> 
> I hope you don't mind ^_~*


	5. House Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Anna makes a house call, and Sarah's world is thoroughly tipped upsidedown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I must apologize in the unintended delay in getting this installation to you. I did say I hadn't meant to make you wait looking for this chapter. Time slips by like water when we aren't watching, and that's all the excuse I can offer.

Anna’s arrival to our little townhome was remarkably normal, for all that was happening to call for her visit in the first place. She sat and I made us some tea while Jane amused herself with her activity table with it’s lights and sounds. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it wasn’t a social call, but I made tea and set out some biscuits anyway. Anna smiled at me in greeting, which put me at ease, and started to ask for more details on the situation, which made me a little uneasy.

Very carefully I began to explain what I thought must have been hallucinations, including the nightmare of so many months ago which continued to plague me in my waking hours.

“Do you hallucinate often?” Anna’s voice was neutral and gentle, and didn’t sound like the probing question which would have made me terrified of losing Jane had it come from Child Services.

“No,” I answered with a confused frown, “I have never experienced anything like this before. I just can’t explain it any other way, unless that room is haunted.” I tacked on those last five words in an undertone, desperate not to seem disconnected from reality.

Anna hummed and I realized I should have thought more carefully about who I was speaking with. She would not have thought me crazy had I suggested a haunting. I ducked my head and hid my shame with a dainty sip of tea.

“Well, I can’t know anything until I see the nursery which is causing you so much worry. I don’t feel anything malicious or negative in here, but it’s not unheard of for a spirit to focus on a single room of a house.”

I stood and secured the tea cozy, stalling for more time before attending to the real business of Anna’s visit. Somehow sensing my need for comfort, as she usually does, Jane happily put her little hand in mind and the three of us made our way to her nursery. As we walked into the room, I pulled her up into my arms, and waited for Anna to speak.

Jane had put her head down on my shoulder and I hugged her tightly to myself, glad for her closeness.

After a few circuits of the room and sitting in meditation for a while, Anna turned to me with a serious expression on her face. “This room is not haunted,” She announced, and I didn’t know whether to be happy or not. She extended her hand and pressed it under my elbow, escorting me back to the parlour, “Let’s go have some more tea and we can continue talking about this.”

The tea cozy had done an unusually good job of keeping the tea hot, but I didn’t really notice anything except the comfort of the tea and Jane’s activity center in the background.

I mustered up my nerves and spoke, “If the room isn’t haunted, then I must have been seeing things.”

Anna grinned and purposefully misunderstood me, “We see things all the time.”

I couldn’t quite find it funny, though I could tell she meant to make me lighten up. I screwed up my face over my teacup and retorted, “You know what I mean.”

She sighed, “Yes. I do know exactly what you mean.”

_ ‘Exactly’? How could she possibly know ‘exactly’? _ I wondered, baffled.

“This is not the first time I’ve counseled a parent in these circumstances. I have a feeling I know exactly what has been going on.”

Anna’s tone was calming and confident, and I was suddenly quite glad that she wasn’t Child Services - If she were about to confirm I was hallucinating, then I wanted as much time to ensure Jane would go to her grandparents or her father, even if it meant submitting myself to a sanatorium.

“So, I have been hallucinating, then?” I demanded in a defeated tone. I didn’t have much room to stand on to argue for my sanity, I knew what I’d seen, and I knew it wasn’t within normal reality.

Anna’s smile sharpened and it made me quite uncomfortable, “I never agreed that you were hallucinating.”

Now I was just confused, “Then how do you explain what I’ve seen?”

The healer turned to my daughter, “Jane, darling, were your stuffed animals dancing for you?”

The noises stopped as Jane turned and wobbled a bit and nodded with bright wide brown eyes, “Yes Miss Anna.”

So polite, my little angel. I felt a little thrill of pride go through me, even as another part of me was stunned with her answer.

“Do they often dance for you, Jane?”

She hummed in agreement, still smiling widely at Anna, and I hid my confusion behind a biscuit.

“That must be nice. Does anything else dance for you?”

Jane tilted her head in thought before answering simply, “The birds and butterflies. They leave the spinner sometimes. I like their music.”

Anna looked at me and smiled bracingly, “You’ve been clearly seeing the things around you. There’s no haunting or hallucinations. Rest assured that your daughter is fine and safe here.”

I’d finished the biscuit, but I didn’t know what to say to that proclamation which seemed to be at odds with reality, so I took a sip of tea instead.

Accurately interpreting my unease, Anna went on, “If anything happens again that really concerns you, feel free to give me a call. Let me know when your husband has seen something and I will come and reassure him as well. Your Jane is special and has been blessed with gifts. It’ll be some time before you really understand, but it’s enough to know for now that nothing is wrong with her, and that she is in no danger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The future update schedule will be once every two weeks, so expect the next chapter then! Even though it'll be the middle of NaNoWriMo, I've already gotten the next few chapters written, not to worry.


End file.
